Mosque bombers jailed for Vic terror act

A terror attack on a Melbourne mosque was motivated by intolerance, malevolence and misguided piety based on beliefs a Supreme Court Justice says have no place in civilised society.

Ahmed Mohamed was the mastermind of a plan to burn down the Imam Ali Islamic Centre, where Shia Muslims attend, in Fawkner in 2016 and recruited his friend Abdullah Chaarani to help.

When their first attempt in November that year failed, the Sunni Muslim men went back to the drawing board and recruited Hatim Moukhaiber for a second go in December.

Their goal was to "strike a blow against, and terrorise, Shia Muslims", Justice Andrew Tinney said on Wednesday as he jailed the terror trio for their "callous, cowardly and vindictive" crimes.

Mohamed, 26, and Chaarani, 28, have been jailed for 22 years for carrying out the act of terror and for their earlier attempt.

The pair, who are still awaiting sentencing after being convicted of a separate plot to carry out an attack on Federation Square weeks later on Christmas Day in 2016, must serve at least 17 years before they're eligible for parole.

Moukhaiber, 31, must serve at least 12 years of a 16-year prison term before he's eligible for release on parole.